Just
a few months ago, the e-commerce giant announced a new
product called AWS Ground Station, which will allow companies to
rent access to satellite data.

The decision to move into the space sector certainly wasn't one
made at random.

Former CEO of the European Space Agency, Jean-Jacques Dordain,
believes the reason internet giants are all so interested in
space is the potential it holds for legally collecting and
sharing data worldwide.

Now an adviser to Luxembourg's government on matters relating to
space, Dordain added that Internet giants are also focused on
space due to its potential to connect individuals and networks.

"Space is very interesting to the defence sector," he said,
"because defence begins with reliable information and satellites
that listen, observe, measure, and transmit. That's why defence
is the key focus of all the world's major space powers today,
with the notable exception of Europe."

With AWS Ground Station, the e-commerce giant is looking to offer
its clients the opportunity to rent access to satellite ground
stations in the same way as it rents access to its data centers.

This will ensure companies that don't have the financial
resources to build and operate their own satellite
infrastructures will be able to access on-demand satellite
services.

Amazon is far from being the only one out of techs "Big Four"
showing interest in the sector; according to
IEEE Spectrum, Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg is considering
designing two laser communication satellites too.

This technology would be incredibly helpful to Facebook, as it
would be able to support a much higher data rate and would be far
less vulnerable to being intercepted or hacked.